Sebastian Vettel and his predecessor

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Although he retired from the premier class around two years ago, Sebastian Vettel still holds a Formula 1 record to this day. By winning the title in 2010, the German is still the youngest world champion in the history of the premier class.

While we look at the top 10 youngest Formula 1 world champions in our photo series, we would like to take a look at how the record has changed over the decades.

Since the first season of the Formula 1 world championship in 1950, there have been nine drivers who were each allowed to call themselves the youngest Formula 1 champion for a certain period of time. The first was, logically, the first world champion ever.

1950: Giuseppe Farina (43 years, 10 months, 4 days)

Because the Italian is the first Formula 1 champion, he is both the youngest and oldest world champion. He is still at the top of the latter list today, as only Juan Manuel Fangio was older than Farina when he won the title in 1955, 1956 and 1957.

However, he lost the title of youngest world champion after just one year. And strangely enough, he loses it to the man who will later replace him as the oldest world champion.

1951: Juan Manuel Fangio (40 years, 4 months, 4 days)

The second Formula 1 world champion is also older than 40 when he won his first of five titles. But he can’t even call himself the youngest world champion for twelve months before he’ll lose the record again.

1952: Alberto Ascari (34 years, 21 days)

Just two races before the end of the 1952 season, the Italian was crowned by far the youngest world champion in Formula 1’s young history. 21 days after his 34th birthday, he became the first “U40 champion”.

And for the first time, the new record stood for several years because Ascari triumphed again in 1953 and Fangio then became world champion four times in a row. Only then will another sound barrier be broken.

1958: Mike Hawthorn (29 years, 6 months, 9 days)

In 1958, the Briton became the first driver to become Formula 1 world champion at the age of less than 30. This makes him the only “U30 champion” in the first decade of the still young World Championship.

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Photo series: Top 10: The youngest Formula 1 world champions

#10: Kimi Räikkönen (28 years, 4 days) – World Champion 2007

Photo series

Because next year’s world champions (Jack Brabham, Phil Hill and Graham Hill) have already exceeded 30 when they won their respective titles. Nevertheless, there is a small trend towards a “younger” generation.

So, starting with Hawthorn, between 1958 and 1965 no Formula 1 world champion was older than 34. It is only logical that the record would be broken again during this period.

1963: Jim Clark (27 years, 6 months, 4 days)

When he won the title, the Briton was two years younger than his compatriot Hawthorn five years earlier. In addition, Clark will then hold the record for nine years, longer than any other driver before him.

During this period, Jack Brabham also became Formula 1’s last “over-40 world champion” to date. In 1966, he won his third and final world title at the age of 40 years, 5 months and 2 days.

1972: Emerson Fittipaldi (25 years, 8 months, 29 days)

Nine years after Clark, the Brazilian set a new record that will last for more than three decades. To this day, no one has held this record longer than Fittipaldi.

In the decades that followed, there were numerous drivers such as Niki Lauda, ​​James Hunt and Ayrton Senna who were under 30 when they won their (first) title. But no one can break the Fittipaldi record.

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Michael Schumacher never held the record as the youngest Formula 1 world champion

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A certain German named Michael Schumacher comes closest. When he won his first World Cup title in 1994 (25 years, 10 months, 10 days), he was also slightly older than Fittipaldi.

2005: Fernando Alonso (24 years, 1 month, 27 days)

Only 33 years after the Brazilian is there a new record holder. When he won the title, Alonso was actually around a year and a half younger than Fittipaldi was back then – and thus initiated a “youth trend”.

In 2005, Alonso dethroned Schumacher, who had previously become world champion five times in a row and was already 35 years old when he won the title. Starting with Alonso, no world champion will be older than 29 for ten years between 2005 and 2014.

Unfortunately for Alonso, the record changed twice during this period and he lost the record again after just three years.

2008: Lewis Hamilton (23 years, 9 months, 26 days)

The Brit even had the opportunity to become world champion for the first time in 2007 – but lost this chance in the last two races of the year. So he won the title a year “delayed”, but that was still enough to replace Alonso.

However, Hamilton should still mourn the missed title in 2007, because a win back then would have guaranteed him the record to this day. Instead, he lost the record again after just two years.

2010: Sebastian Vettel (23 years, 4 months, 11 days)

With a dramatic title win in the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, the German dethroned Hamilton and set the record that still stands today. Even a certain Max Verstappen can’t break these years later.

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Max Verstappen is “only” in fourth place in the list of youngest world champions

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The Dutchman is already 24 years, 2 months and 12 days old when he wins his first world title in 2021 – and is therefore a year “too late” to undercut Vettel again.